BSI Inspectorate opens new food lab in Lima, Peru

PRESS RELEASE

23 July 2003

BSI Inspectorate has opened a brand new food laboratory in Lima, Peru. The facility provides fishmeal and microbiology testing for the large fishmeal and fish oil industries and associated exports that originate from Peru.

This new facility will provide BSI Inspectorate with access to the fast growing agricultural and food markets in the country, including the animal feed, human food and sanitary controls industry. The new laboratory adds to the existing minerals testing facilities, which have been in operation in Peru since 1998.

Peru and Chile produce a large proportion of the world's animal feed fishmeal, and Peru is the largest exporter in the world. The new laboratory has the capacity to cope with between 5 and 8 per cent of the fishmeal and fish oil market in Peru, an industry that annually produces 1.5 million tons of exports; a figure similar to the 1.5 million to 2 million tons of mineral concentrates exported each year.

The main assays provided at the new laboratory will include protein, fat and fibre content determination, as well as microbiological tests such as Salmonella, Shiguella and Enterobacters.

These assays are run under ISO, AOAC and AOCS methodologies, and BSI Inspectorate Peru is already a member of GAFTA (The Grain and Free Trade Association) and IFFO (Fish Meal and Fish Oil Association), where it has a seat on the technical committee.

Says Santiago Montoya, General Manager of BSI Inspectorate Peru,

"This means our operations will now cover the two main economic activities of Peru: mining and fishing. The new facilities will offer testing throughout the whole of the country, including major ports such as Illo, Matarani, Pisco, Callao, Chimbote and Paita."